By Mike Hutchens, Union City Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Only the names change. The goals remain the same for the Union City Golden Tornadoes.
Coming off its fourth state football championship in the last nine years and first-ever in Class 2A, Union City lost a wealth of contributors from that 2017 BlueCross Bowl title squad that beat Tyner Academy 27-21 in a double-overtime thriller last December.
Add to that the lack of depth and overall size of this year’s team, and one might assume back-to-back championships for the second time in the last decade is nothing more than a pipe dream.
Don’t sleep on this group of Tornadoes, though.
“Our goals never change. We want to be playing in Cookeville that first weekend in December,” said veteran UC head coach Darren Bowling, who has directed the Purple and Gold to each of those aforementioned championships and is 102-27 in 10 years at the school.
While the Twisters lost nearly 4,000 rushing yards 54 combined touchdowns with the graduation of record-setting fullback Trey Jones and quarterback Braxton Waddell and must also replace the bulk of their offensive line and top tackler (Tyler Bowling), a number of capable players either return or are set to step up for their turn.
And Bowling has the exact same expectations from this group as he has had from the ones before them.
“The names may change, but the program and our goals will always remain the same. Kids come and go, but the program is bigger than any one kid or group of kids and it’s most important,” he said. “We stay consistent with what we do.
“The biggest thing is we try to mold good character kids who like the game and are willing to work hard and sacrifice and make them a team.”
No matter the experience-level nor the size, Union City will again employ a physical triple-option offense that has been dominant in the last decade.
Kaleb Craig (Sr., 5-9, 190) will be the centerpiece of the of he Tornado ground-and-pound attack after gaining 885 yards and scoring 11 TDs as Jones’ back-up a year ago. While maybe not as big, Craig is more athletic than Jones, is faster and is also punishing as a runner.
He was the Defensive MVP in last year’s state championship game, and will double as a starting linebacker on defense this season.
Conner Hurt (Sr., 6-1, 185) will be the triggerman of the offense at quarterback, moving there after a solid junior campaign at tailback, where he gained 744 yards and scored six times.
A good athlete, Hurt is “starting to get it,” according to Bowling, who referenced Hurt’s understanding of the offense and challenges of reading opposing defenses.
Hurt will also do double duty as a two-way starter for the second straight year, part of a solid secondary.
Rising sophomore Wes Tilghman (5-8, 165) will start at tailback while also serving as protégé for Hurt at QB. Tilghman has shown flashes in the preseason of being a playmaker, and has been unafraid to “stick his nose in there,” Bowling said.
Freshman Kyrell Littleton (5-7, 175) is penciled in to start at the slot position and is a name to remember for not only this season, but the future with added seasoning.
“We’re going to continue to do what we’ve always done,” Bowling stated. “Kids come and go you can change the philosophy and schemes with every group if you want to.
“If you did that, you’d be switching back and forth in what you believed in every year though. We choose to fit kids into what we believe in and what has proven to be effective.”
Up front – where all games are won and lost – Bowling has had to juggle some things in the preseason with a group that will feature just three players (junior center DJ Gray, 5-9, 295; sophomore guard Neil Brown, 6-3, 225; and senior tackle Conner Terrell, 5-7, 205) who weigh more than 200 pounds.
They’ll be joined by guard Alex Rodriguez (Jr., 6-3, 185), and tackle Jay Ramsey (Sr., 5-7, 175), the latter a true “team-guy” who has moved from slot to the line out of necessity.
“I like our guys,” Bowling claimed. “We’ve had to move some folks around … some former tackles are now guards and some backfield guys are linemen. They work hard though, and that’s where it all begins for us.
“We just have to come together and play as a unit.”
On defense, Terrell and Craig are expected to make a ton of tackles at linebacker, while Ramsey has had to switch places there, too, moving to end after ranking fourth on the tackle chart a year ago as a linebacker.
The back half of the unit should be strong with Hurt, returning starter Preston Little (Sr., 5-8, 145), senior Kaylon McClendon (5-10, 165) and junior Sam Theobald (Jr. 5-8, 165) forming to make a solid secondary.
McLendon, also a receiver on offense, has gotten bigger and stronger since a year ago and should find his way to the ball often.
Senior Austin Atwill, a standout baseball player, has joined the team and will serve as the team’s kicker.
“We’re just going to do what we do … and that’s practice hard and be physical every day,” the coach concluded. “That’s not going to change no matter if we have 11 (kids) or 50 and no matter how big they are or aren’t. You can’t expect kids to be physical on Friday nights if they’re not physical in practice and I’ve seen more kids get hurt by going half-speed in practice rather than full speed.
“I feel really blessed to coach young men who give maximum effort every time they step on the field. Union City football has been known for that for a while now, and I’m proud of that.
“We have to get better each day and each week, but we have big-picture goals too. We’ll see what happens.’
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